


My heart tells me I’m missing home - wherever that is

by frawst



Series: Life & Death [2]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Daniel and Max are basically the assistants of Life & Death, First Kiss, Grim Reapers, M/M, Minor Character Death, Shapeshifting, Some Humor, Some fluff too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24850372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frawst/pseuds/frawst
Summary: Life and Death often meet in waffle house parking lots. Their assistants however prefer a much less dramatic way.
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen
Series: Life & Death [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797757
Comments: 7
Kudos: 70





	My heart tells me I’m missing home - wherever that is

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2! Who would have thought? Probably not me!
> 
> So Maxiel was actually my first idea for Life and Death but I decided on Lando & Charles in the end. I still kind of wanted to include these two within the AU and I actually found a way.
> 
> And I don't think you have to read the first part? There's some explanation in here, so
> 
> Yeah, enjoy! :)

Life and Death often meet in waffle house parking lots. They have time for that because, at some point when humankind started to grow and develop, there was just so much more work to do. Too much for one soul alone. So they started recruiting. Assistants, that’s what they called them because it was basically what they were doing. At first, it was hard to decide how to get to new recruits but Charles was the one to come up with a good idea.

People were always dying. Some did so way before their time though. Lando and Charles decided to give them a second chance. When Charles took a new soul in, welcoming them into his care, he let them choose. They could accept their fate and wait or reunite with their loved ones. But they could also take his offer to help the circle of life. If they would take the latter, Charles would reassign their soul based on his judgment. 

Teaming up with Lando, their job was to bring new life to the world, to make sure it blooms.

Staying with Charles, they would help to collect lost souls, bring them home, and make sure they were safe. Nothing was more frightening than stepping into this kind of afterlife alone. 

It worked surprisingly well. They had assistants staying with them for centuries. Some stopped after a few years or decades, but that was okay too. Lando and Charles were thankful for every helping hand.

Lando’s latest recruit was a young man. Daniel had died while trying to save a child from drowning. He’d succeeded, but unfortunately, a subsea whirl had caught him, pulled him under. There had been no use in fighting and as he woke from unconsciousness, Charles was standing in front of him. He had given him a choice - to come with him or to make something off this little helper syndrome of his. Not a hard decision for him. 

Daniel was introduced to Lando then and they just clicked. He was happy to help Life himself and ready to do whatever was needed of him. Lando blessed him with the ability to shapeshift his appearance into any animal currently walking the planet and back into his human form whenever he wanted. He’d told Daniel something about being closer to nature and remaining unnoticed while working. Daniel thought it was the coolest thing ever. 

Over the decades, he had tried almost every animal there was. From big, impressive lions to cute small ladybugs. Truth be told, the latter was an experience he wasn’t keen on repeating. It could have something to do with the fact that he got eaten up by a frog but he’d rather not talk about that. In the end, Daniel had his favorites he used most of the time - a majestic eagle-hawk, a glorious killer whale, and a sweet little honey badger. Granted, the honey badger seemed out of place, but probably just because no one ever saw them fight before. They were savage, fearless, and a bit crazy. So just like Daniel. 

His days were mostly the same. Watch out for nature, care for the living, and don’t do anything stupid. Not that big of a problem.

That was until he had the pleasure to meet one of Charles’ assistants. It was not often that he met one of the others, not even the assistants working for Lando like him. Actually, his encounters with them could be counted on ten fingers, so it was clear that he was pretty excited when he met Max for the first time. 

He had been doing an inspection flight over Australia, checking if everything was fine. Australia had been his home during his short lifetime and no matter where Life took him, he always returned home. Daniel was surprised when he caught a glimpse of black fabric moving through the land. Following it, he witnessed what was probably his first soul transfer. The other had stopped at a waterfall, standing on the edge of the cliff, staring upstream. Curious, Daniel landed on a nearby tree, watching the young man. 

He knew by now that the assistants of Charles were called _the grim reapers_. It was a cool name, he envied them a bit for it and this one obviously had made it his duty to fulfill every image humans had of them. Dressed tight slacks, a dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and a big hat on his head - all in black. There was some kind of fabric floating around his shoulders that reminded Daniel of a scarf but somehow served as a cloak as well and a scythe in his right hand. The grim reaper didn’t seem to notice him or he just didn’t care. His gaze was still fixed on the river flowing. And then Daniel saw it too.

There was someone in the water, drifting downstream, clearly fighting for their life. Daniel looked around, even considering taking off again to search for help, but he already knew no one was there. The human was not able to save themself, facing their death in the form of the waterfall crashing down on the rocks. There was a memory flashing his mind. Cold water filling his lungs, waves and whirls pulling him down again and again. No. He couldn’t let this human die.

The grim reaper was just waiting. He was standing there, doing nothing to help so Daniel jumped into action. He flew down from the branch he had been sitting on, changing into his human form just as he was about to land and sprinted towards the river. There was still time, he could save the human. One dive into the water and he would be there. Before he even reached the shore though a hand caught his arm, holding him back. Daniel looked up, staring at the blank face of the grim reaper. He was staring him down, with no emotion visible on his features. Daniel thought he would say something, but the other kept silent.

"Let go of me!" Daniel snapped, trying to break free but the hold on his arm was too strong. 

"No. You can’t help them," the grim reaper said, making Daniel even angrier.

"What are you talking about?! Of course I can! It’s not too late!"

"But it is not your job to interfere either." 

Daniel gaped at the other in disbelief. Just when he wanted to fight back again there was a scream. Daniel turned around, searching the river for the human but they were gone. Bewildered, he wanted to shout at the grim reaper, but he was gone too. Daniel looked around in confusion and caught two figures standing at the bottom of the waterfall, one of them all in black. In an instant he was down there too, already coming for the grim reapers head when he heard the conversation. 

"It’s gonna be okay. You’re safe with me. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time, but it will be okay."

"So I- I am really dead?" the human asked. The grim reaper nodded and there was a glimpse of hope in the humans' eyes. 

"Where you’ll take me, are there others too?"

"Yes," the grim reaper nodded, a small smile on his lips. "You’re family is already waiting for you." Relieve flashed over the human’s face and a second later, their soul vanished within a thousand sparks.

Daniel could just stand and stare. "What was that?" he asked, his mind not really processing the information. The grim reaper turned to face him, the smile gone.

"They were hunted down. On the run for years after their family had been killed. The bad guys found them eventually. I don’t know the details, I don’t have to, but I know that it was time for them to finally rest."

Daniel nodded absentmindedly. Pieces clicked into the right place and he understood why the other had held him back in the first place. The humans' life must have been like hell. And although this was no painless way to die, they had seemed happy at the thought of being reunited with their family.

"I know you _storks_ are a bit persistent on keeping the living alive, but sometimes their time is up. It’s not always after having a fulfilled life but it is not on us to decide."

"The fuck you just call me?" Daniel perked up, his brows furrowing.

"Stork," the grim reaper replied, and yeah, Daniel saw the smirk playing around his lips for a second. The little fucker was teasing him!

"I have a name, you know?" He put his hand out. "Daniel."

The grim reaper hesitated but shook it. His grip was firm and warm. "Max."

"Oki Doki. Listen, you look like you follow Charles’ rules strictly, but the next time I’m trying to save a life don’t stop me. Because it’s my job to make sure life blooms, Maxy." Daniel winked at Max, a wide grin prominent on his face. Yeah, he was not one to hold a grudge over anything and Max only did what he deemed right. And although he did not want to admit it, Max was kind of right. Lando had told him multiple times that he should not interfere with Charles’ business no matter how well they got along. That Death and his reapers were in this world to guide the souls to the afterlife and did not decide who would die. They were not taking lives per se, though it seemed logical since Lando and his assistants were giving life. Max was apparently understanding this bit better than Daniel did in the past decades.

-

Of course, Max didn’t promise him anything that day. The chances that they would see each other ever again were at a minimum, so he didn’t seem to bother. But Daniel, well, he wished their ways would cross again. There just was something about Max that kept him interested and if he went around, seeking out other assistants and casually dropping Max’ name, that was no one’s business.

It worked though. And after collecting enough information he thought he’d figured out where to find Max. It took him some patience and of course, he couldn’t abandon his duties, but he was able to multitask. 

So the next time he saw Max again he knew what was awaiting him. Daniel spotted the grim reaper at a countryside house. He was leaning against the fence, waiting for Max to come out of the house again. He had already changed to his human form, wanted to make sure Max noticed him and would not vanish on the spot. 

It didn’t take long until Max stepped out into the garden. His face was as blank as the last time, although Daniel could swear he saw a flash of surprise. 

"What are you doing here?" Max wanted to know, stepping closer. Daniel shrugged.

"Looking after the garden? Making sure everything’s good in the neighborhood," he said but the huff coming from Max told him the reaper didn’t believe a word he said.

"Right. Because that’s so important. I thought your field were animals, not flowers." The words pricked up Daniel’s ears. 

"Yeah? Why’s that?" Daniel could pinpoint the moment Max realized that he gave away too much. Because yeah, it was no secret that Daniel was helping with animals the majority of the time, but you had to ask to know. Just like he had asked around for Max, Max must have done the same. Daniel couldn’t resist the grin spreading wide on his lips. 

"Maybe I wanted to know who almost violated the law," Max decided in the end.

"There are no laws for us."

"Just because you don’t know them doesn’t mean there are none." And yeah, he was probably right with that one too. "But you didn’t answer my question."

"I did. You just don’t believe me," Daniel said, still grinning. Max rolled his eyes and made to turn away, but Daniel was quick to get into his way.

"What?" Max said, playing the annoyed reaper.

"You want to hang out?" And yeah, it was not the most intelligent thing to say and he was pretty sure Max would turn the offer down, but it was worth a shot, right? What could probably go wrong? He was already dead and if Max didn’t want anything to do with him, that was okay. He wouldn’t pressure the reaper, they could avoid each other if this went wrong.

"Yeah why not."

"What?" And Max rolled his eyes again although his guard seemed to fall a bit.

"I said why not, dumbass." And wow, Daniel had not expected that. Max had said yes. Well, kind of at least.

"Great! How about now?" Daniel said, excitement rising within him. Max looked like he wanted to agree again, but just as he opened his mouth, he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes went down to his hand, or his wrist to be precise. There was a little symbol that looked like a scythe - the one Max had with him the last time but was gone now. Just the little thing on his wrist was glowing. Max sighed, shaking his head at Daniel. 

"I’d love to, but a soul is waiting for me. Sorry," he said and sounded like it. Daniel understood. It was more important for the reapers to be on time, to get there as soon as possible. Life was without such pressure, though they were busy too.

"It’s okay. I’m sure we get another chance." Plenty, he hoped. 

"Yeah, you’re probably right. I get to you, okay?" Daniel nodded and Max flashed him a small smile before disappearing again. At least he had something to look forward to now.

-

In fact, they got more than enough chances to meet up again. At first, it was Max coming to him, but the more regular their meetings got the more it varied. And Daniel grew very fond of the grim reaper. Although he had appeared _grim_ indeed at first, Daniel discovered Max to actually be a funny guy. It was easy to make him laugh once Max let himself relax around Daniel and the way his face lit up every time? Priceless. 

Daniel never accompanied Max to collect a soul though. Instead, he waited for him when they were in the same area. Max sometimes was in a strange mood when he returned from a job and it was his pleasure to cheer the other up again. Now, he was flying over a small town, his eagle eyes searching for the reaper. Daniel had figured there was a special kind of aura surrounding the place where the reapers did their thing. It made spotting Max way easier. He would like to have something like a phone to arrange their meetings but that was not possible so the aura thing had to do. 

Landing on a tree branch close to the respective house, he thought about changing into another form just to mess with Max. Maybe a fox? It had to be something big enough to be noticed but not too big to raise suspicion amongst the inhabitants of the small town. A stag was out of options then. Maybe another bird? A stork would be possible but Max would just mock him for choosing a form people connected with bringing babies - and therefor life. He had told Daniel this once at the beginning of their meetings. That it was the reason they were known as _the storks_ among reapers. Ridiculous, because life came in many forms, but he was not one to argue about that. He’d rather not have others call him _stork_ so he didn’t bring it up if he didn’t have to. 

Something touched his tail, pulling Daniel from his thoughts all of a sudden and making him squeak in terror. He even made for a jump start, miscalculating the impact his surprise would have and stumbling over his own wings. The laughter in his back gave away just _who_ had almost scared him to a second death. Turning into his human form, laying on the ground, he glared at Max. The reaper already had tears in his eyes from laughing so hard, holding his sides.

"You should have seen your face! Hilarious," Max laughed, having to support his weight on the tree. "I mean, I figured it would be funny but I would have never imagined an eagle could look like such an idiot."

"You’re an idiot," Daniel huffed, but could not resist laughing himself. "Next time I’m gonna sit where you can’t reach me."

"Yeah, we’ll see about that. Your memory span is not that good."

"Fuck you too, Maxy."

The reaper blew him a kiss before reaching down to help Daniel up again. He brushed the dust off his clothes and pulled Max into a tight hug - almost beheading himself in the process. Fucking scythe.

"Would you be so kind as to put that thing away?" he asked and Max grinned devilishly.

"What? You scared?"

"Not at all. I just like my head on my shoulders," Daniel said. 

"Yeah, probably looks prettier than it laying on the floor," Max said, wielding the damned thing and making it vanish. Daniel knew the wielding was just Max showing off, knew the scythe didn't need it to go back to the little tattoo on Max' wrist. But he would probably do the same if he had something like that. There was something other that had caught his attention though.

"You think I’m pretty?" Max huffed, shaking his head.

"I said it would look better if your head was on your shoulders instead of laying on the ground."

"No, you said it would look _prettier_ ," Daniel argued and he was sure about that. His memory might not work perfectly all the time, but his hearing was faultless. "And therefore you must think I look pretty."

"Prettier, not pretty. If I say you’re better looking than, I don’t know, a naked mole-rat, that would not exactly be a compliment."

"Rude," he pouted, shoving Max against the chest.

"More like honest, pretty boy."

"Ha! Now you admitted to it!"

"Just shut up, would you?"

And yes, maybe he took to much pleasure in seeing the light blush on Max’ cheeks.

They decided on a walk through the fields, chatting away and they would probably make a funny pair - if anyone could actually see them, that is. It was nice, spending time with Max. Over the last decades, Daniel almost only had contact with animals and they were not very talkative. It had never bothered him, he could always turn to Lando or Charles if he felt lonely, but they had their own duties and Daniel figured the two of them preferred to spend their free time with one another. Good for them, he had always envied them a little bit but was happy for them. And since he had Max, his existence was way better. Having someone to share your thoughts with and who knew how it was to be like they were, to do what they did, it made everything less difficult. 

"Do you ever, like, settle on one form?" Max asked him, looking ahead. He knew Daniel was able to shapeshifter into any animal, mainly because he had told him of different experiences already.

"Nah. I mean I really like being a honey badger, but it’s pretty hard to travel that way? And it’s way more fun seeing you eyeing every animal suspiciously because you think it could be me," he said, an impish grin spreading on his face. "That one time you talked to a crow for fifteen minutes? Hilarious!"

He could see Max going red, the color even reaching his neck. So he definitely remembered too.

"I thought you were mocking me okay?! Because you know, humans see them as an omen for death and all," Max said, defending himself but avoiding eye contact.

"It was kind of cute, though," Daniel admitted, bumping his shoulder against Max’, making the reaper stumble to the side a bit in the process. Max shoved him at the shoulder in return. 

They fell silent again, the small town just a thin line on the skyline anymore. The fields around them had changed too. There was poppy blooming around them and Daniel stopped walking, crouching down and picking a not fully bloomed one out. He could feel Max’ eyes on him, waiting what the point for this was. Daniel stood up again, turning to Max and holding the hand with the flower out to him. The reaper raised one eyebrow, not making a move otherwise. He even opened his mouth to say something, probably complaining that he didn’t have time for this and that he wanted to continue walking. Daniel just shifted his focus a bit more on the poppy. He could feel the energy, the _life_ , pulsing through the cells, reviving the flower and making it bloom right in his hand. 

"For the prettiest reaper walking this planet," he said, stepping closer and tugging the poppy behind Max’ ear. And the way the color of his face matched the one of the flowers? Oh, Daniel wished he could hold on to that moment forever. 

Max didn’t say a thing, probably looking for the right words to say but his mind failing him. Good. Daniel loved leaving him speechless. And he decided to take the opportunity. His hand reaching for Max’ face, knuckles brushing over soft skin and coming to rest just under his chin. Titling Max’ head up a bit, Daniel leaned down. He hesitated a second before their lips could meet, giving Max the chance to back out of this. But he didn’t. He just stared at him, his eyes daring him to do it. So Daniel did. He brought their lips together and it was as if something shifted inside of him, something clicking into place. 

Max was kissing back, reserved at first. But then he seemed to realize this was real, that Daniel was not just joking around and the kiss got more intense. Max wrapped one arm around Daniel’s waist, tangling his other hand into his curls and pulling him even closer. And they were just standing there, hands on each other, Max with the flower in his hair, kissing as if the world depended on it.

When they parted again Max was a bit out of breath, but Daniel could totally relate.

"You’re still an idiot," Max whispered and it made Daniel laugh so wholeheartedly, his body shaking and he dived in to kiss Max again. 

Neither of them even noticed the two men standing in the distance, hands joined, and a proud expression on their faces. Maybe a field of poppies was not as dramatic as a waffle house parking lot, but it was way more cheesy than that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :)
> 
> Find me on tumblr @fraaawst and feel free to yell at me about this


End file.
